I am in a personal meltdown stage right now. You may have noticed a prayer request from me a few weeks ago. The situation, which unfortunately I will have to keep to myself, has gone over the edge. I can't participate on the forum for the time being because I just have to try and finish school (I am graduating May 21 with my M.Div.) and I have to try and figure some stuff out. I'll be back soon but just want to let you know I am not posting for probably at least a week, nor moderating. We have a fine moderating staff so they will just take care of things while I am off. Also Robert and Philip (Mor Ephrem) are adept at running this place.

Please pray for me. I hope to emerge from this crisis a better man and a better Christian.

Be Strong Anastasios! May the Theotokos have mercy upon your situation, and watch over you as a good and loving mother. May our Savior by his passion strengthen you, and St. Maximos Sandovich intercede for you !

"The creed is very simple, and here is what it is: to believe that there is nothing more beautiful, more courageous, and more perfect than Christ; and there not only isn't, but I tell myself with a jealous love, there cannot be." ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

"The creed is very simple, and here is what it is: to believe that there is nothing more beautiful, more courageous, and more perfect than Christ; and there not only isn't, but I tell myself with a jealous love, there cannot be." ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

Thanks for all the prayers so far. I have had 3 things I needed to get accomplished:1) get a new car2) get a new apartment3) get a new job

So I have accomplished #1, now I need a job. I have applied to what would be a great job opportunity and I ask your prayers that I get an interview and do well. Thank you!

Anastasios

Prayers for a great job offer.

A bit of unsolicited advice that I give all job seekers. Have you ever considered a career in healthcare? There are a number of nursing and healthcare tech positions that pay relatively well. Plus benefits are usually very generous in healthcare fields. There's good information on the Bureau of Labor website. They require some education.

Prayers indeed for a profitable outcome to your situation. And hopefully you won't find yourself coming back here to rant about your job all day.

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"The creed is very simple, and here is what it is: to believe that there is nothing more beautiful, more courageous, and more perfect than Christ; and there not only isn't, but I tell myself with a jealous love, there cannot be." ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

Sounds like a carbon copy of my former boss, minus the yelling, cussing, hurling. LOL.

« Last Edit: July 08, 2005, 01:57:31 PM by Strelets »

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"The creed is very simple, and here is what it is: to believe that there is nothing more beautiful, more courageous, and more perfect than Christ; and there not only isn't, but I tell myself with a jealous love, there cannot be." ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

Sounds like a carbon copy of my former boss, minus the yelling, cussing, hurling.ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€š LOL.

I wish I could quote a great prayer from arius, but the church burned them all.

I think this will comfort you just the same Nicene.

An African Creed A Masai version of Christianity's Nicene Creed, developed by missionaries in Africa.

We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it. He created man and wanted man to be happy in the world. God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the earth. We have known this High God in darkness, and now we know him in the light. God promised in the book of his word, the bible, that he would save the world and all the nations and tribes.

We believe that God made good his promise by sending his son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left his home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing the meaning of religion is love. He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died. He lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, he rose from the grave. He ascended to the skies. He is the Lord.

We believe that all our sins are forgiven through him. All who have faith in him must be sorry for their sins, be baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love and share the bread together in love, to announce the good news to others until Jesus comes again. We are waiting for him. He is alive. He lives. This we believe. Amen.

I can't help it.. but that creed is hilarious. I wonder what those missionaries were smoking. One other thing... i can't wait until the day I see someone with a user id that says: St. Caiaphas or something like that.

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Cephas

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed."-- Isaiah 53:5

I heard the "Speaking of Faith" program on Creeds that had Prof. Pelikan as a guest as he has written a book on the subject. Reading his book might be useful in getting the ideas clearer, maybe. The Masai creed may sound odd to some, but parts of it have meaning to people who live where the Masai do. The part about the hyenas isn't supposed to be funny, but is a statement that Jesus' body was not corrupted in the grave. Think: what happens to corpses on the plains in Africa? Scavengers are part of the ecology to take care of them. So if that is what someone knows from their life, this is a sentence that is meaningful.

Different Human cultures have different ideas or customs or patterns. I've heard an anecdote that missionaries to the Arctic people in telling of Hell with the image of fire, didn't get the idea across as a place that was warmer wasn't a bad thing to them.

Just a thought or two.

Ebor

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"I wish they would remember that the charge to Peter was "Feed my sheep", not "Try experiments on my rats", or even "Teach my performing dogs new tricks". - C. S. Lewis

I understand what you are saying, but I can't help but think that by changing the Creed, in such a way, it somehow implies that the Nicenean Creed was somehow lacking. To change it up in such a drastic manner is, I feel, uncalled for. Teach the Creed as is, and then expound on it if need be. I understand that there are some concepts that are difficult to grasp, particularly in the case of people who may not be as well educated. That is why missionaries teach the underlying meanings behind the Faith. Of coure you can't go to a place, say Jesus is God and that's it. It takes a great deal to understand that a man can be God incarnate. But it is the cornerstone of the faith and cannot be compromised for the sake of clarity. That's how I view the Creed as well. It is quite clear as is. However, if there are some parts that do need to be explained, then they most certainly should be. Just my thoughts.

Prayers please.

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Cephas

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed."-- Isaiah 53:5

I understand that there are some concepts that are difficult to grasp, particularly in the case of people who may not be as well educated.ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€š

I think that having different cultural contexts, different environments are not the equivalent of "not as well educated".

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That is why missionaries teach the underlying meanings behind the Faith.ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€š Of coure you can't go to a place, say Jesus is God and that's it.ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€š It takes a great deal to understand that a man can be God incarnate.ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€š

This is a place where cultural background and understanding the people being evangelized is important. An example: when Christianity first came to Japan, Francis Xavier had some unintentional difficulties in that the descriptions of the incarnation at first came across as like that of the Buddha. He had to learn how the people of Japan spoke and believed and their customs before he could really get the point across.

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But it is the cornerstone of the faith and cannot be compromised for the sake of clarity.ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€š

I'm sorry, I find this statement to be, umm, curious. One might think that "Clarity" meaning clear meaning and understanding would be a good thing. Perhaps I don't quite understand what you mean.

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That's how I view the Creed as well.ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€š It is quite clear as is.ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€š

It is "quite clear" to *you* and to others on this forum, maybe. You, I gather, are an adult who has studied his religion and theology. That does not make it automatically clear to everyone. Many here also have the advantage of having English as a major language (and some have Greek/Latin or other languages that have had Christian ideas for a long time). Some things don't transfer easily into other languages either, it is useful to remember

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However, if there are some parts that do need to be explained, then they most certainly should be.ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€š Just my thoughts.

I wouldn't say "if" here. Whether with children or adults there *are* parts of the Creeds that do need explaining.

With respect,

Ebor

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"I wish they would remember that the charge to Peter was "Feed my sheep", not "Try experiments on my rats", or even "Teach my performing dogs new tricks". - C. S. Lewis